On David Kelley on human-centered design (Ted.com)

In February 2002, David Kelley gave a talk at the TED conferences entitled 'Human Centered Design' (http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/david_kelley_on_human_centered_design.html).

Kelley is a leader in the field of industrial design, and a founder of the design firm IDEO. As such Kelleys thoughts on the trends and developments in industrial design are of immense value to anyone involved in the industry.

In his TED talk, Kelley notes that product design has developed from a focus purely on products, to a focus on personality and behaviour, and how a product can suit the user. This is what Kelley terms 'human centered design'.

'Human centered design', although not stated by Kelley, seems to have two components. The first is product development, while the second is product/design marketing. The product development phase is continually considering the end-users. Thus the final design should not only perform a required function, but it should perform this function in a manner that is compatible with the style and environment of the end-user.

An example of this end-user consideration the Pavillion outside the Millenium Dome that IDEO was commissioned to design. The Pavillion celebrates the water recycling performed by the Millenium Dome, while educating visitors on the process of water recycling and promoting environmental awareness. The Pavillion meets the requirements of providing information, but it's effectiveness is in the way it engages visitors. The architecture of the Pavillion is sleek in keeping with the Millenium Dome, while the internal exhibit utilises interactive lights and visual displays to interest viewers.

The product/design marketing phase refers to the need to demonstrate human interaction when marketing/pitching a design. Kelley notes that this element is so important that IDEO now has internal production groups to prepare video productions to convey how a product will be used. He regards this as a powerful method of conveying a design, likening it to architects showing people in houses as opposed to empty rooms.

The IDEO video of the Prada showroom in New York, provides a great example of how effectively videos featuring user interaction can convey the merits of a design. Even in the TED audience cheers are audible in response to features of the store.

David Kelley's human centered design encourages designers to focus on end-users during the design process, as well as during the pitch/marketing.